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The Briefing

By Martin Peers, Jessica Lessin and the team at The Information

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Recent Editions

An attendee trying out the Mercedes Benz multimedia system at CES this week. Photo by Bloomberg

At CES, New Questions Emerge as Self-Driving Ambitions Narrow

By Cory Weinberg · Jan 11, 2019 7:02am PST · 2 comments
Executives from self-driving carmakers and software companies who gathered this week at CES, the giant annual electronics show in Las Vegas, appeared to agree on at least one thing: It’s time to lower expectations about autonomous vehicles.In the aftermath of a deadly accident last year involving a car in Uber’s self-driving fleet,... Executives from self-driving carmakers and software companies who gathered this week at CES, the...
An Amazon game controller. Photo by Bloomberg
Exclusive

Amazon Developing Game Streaming Service

By Jessica Toonkel and Kevin McLaughlin · Jan 10, 2019 10:48am PST · 5 comments
Amazon is developing a service for streaming videogames over the internet, joining Microsoft, Google and other companies that are building similar offerings in what could be an important new battleground in online entertainment, two people briefed on the plans said.  Streaming services represent a potentially significant shift in the... Amazon is developing a service for streaming videogames over the internet, joining Microsoft,...
Data Point

A 5G Smartphone Revival? Not So Fast

By Aaron Tilley · Jan 10, 2019 7:02am PST · 1 comment
The increasing price tags on smartphones is often blamed for the stagnation in sales of the devices. Unfortunately, the next big thing in smartphones—super-fast 5G wireless networks—isn’t likely to make the devices any cheaper.Optimism abounds in the wireless industry that 5G will spark sales growth by giving smartphone users... The increasing price tags on smartphones is often blamed for the stagnation in sales of the...
Equity Closes In on Tokens
By Jon Victor · Jan 9, 2019 12:40pm PST
Crypto Newsletter

Equity Closes In on Tokens

By Jon Victor · Jan 9, 2019 12:40pm PST
New Year's greetings to everyone. I got back from a trip to Japan last week to find slogans like “Crypto Without Chaos” and “Revolutions Need Rules” plastered across New York City subway cars and on yellow cabs—part of an extensive new marketing campaign by the exchange Gemini to portray itself as the adult in... New Year's greetings to everyone. I got back from a trip to Japan last week to find slogans...
Photo by Shutterstock.com
True Value

Social Media Backlash Leaves Pinterest Vulnerable

By Alfred Lee · Jan 9, 2019 7:01am PST · 6 comments
A big question hanging over the tech industry is how this year’s hotly anticipated IPOs will perform in the face of a tumultuous stock market. Among the expected major public offerings, one stands out as particularly vulnerable to recent market swings: Pinterest. Given the big stock slides of fellow social media companies Facebook, Twitter... A big question hanging over the tech industry is how this year’s hotly anticipated IPOs...
Shari Redstone. Photo by Bloomberg

As CBS Board Eyes Future, Viacom Merger May Arise Again

By Jessica Toonkel · Jan 8, 2019 10:00am PST
In the next several weeks, CBS’s board is expected to discuss potential candidates to succeed ousted CEO Les Moonves. It is also going to consider whether to restart talks to merge with Viacom, which like CBS is controlled by media mogul Shari Redstone, according to three people familiar with the situation. While the merger talks were... In the next several weeks, CBS’s board is expected to discuss potential candidates to...
Go-Jek motorcycle taxi drivers and passengers travel through traffic in Jakarta. Photo: Bloomberg
Exclusive

Go-Jek to Buy Stake in JD.com’s Indonesian E-Commerce Business

By Juro Osawa · Jan 8, 2019 7:00am PST
Chinese online retail giant JD.com is trying to expand its business in Indonesia by deepening its alliance with local startup Go-Jek. Go-Jek, whose app offers ride-hailing, food delivery and other services, plans to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in JD.com’s Indonesian e-commerce joint venture, a person familiar with the matter... Chinese online retail giant JD.com is trying to expand its business in Indonesia by deepening its...
An Uber pickup zone at a shopping mall in Maryland. Photo by AP
Uber’s Confidential Documents Show Path to $90 Billion IPO
By Amir Efrati · Jan 7, 2019 7:01am PST · 3 comments
An Uber pickup zone at a shopping mall in Maryland. Photo by AP
True Value

Uber’s Confidential Documents Show Path to $90 Billion IPO

By Amir Efrati · Jan 7, 2019 7:01am PST · 3 comments
When Wall Street banks last fall were pitching to take Uber public, some suggested the ride-hailing giant could hit the public market with a valuation of $120 billion. But given how much valuations have fallen with the stock market slump in recent weeks, Uber is more likely to fetch a valuation of a little less than $90 billion. That still would... When Wall Street banks last fall were pitching to take Uber public, some suggested the...
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi. Photo by Bloomberg
Exclusive

What We Learned From Uber’s Confidential 2018 Offering Documents

By Amir Efrati · Jan 7, 2019 7:01am PST
Confidential documents provided by Uber to potential creditors and bond investors in March and October of 2018 provide insights into how the company will tell its story to public market investors ahead of its IPO this year.While the detailed financial projections look rosy (see related article here), there are both good and bad signals... Confidential documents provided by Uber to potential creditors and bond investors in March and...
Podcast

The Information’s 411 — A Bruised Apple

By Priya Anand · Jan 4, 2019 4:29pm PST
Aaron dissects Apple's warning that its first-quarter results will be lower than it expected. Priya discusses the hopes and prospects of the online grocery delivery startup Good Eggs against larger competitors. Aaron dissects Apple's warning that its first-quarter results will be lower than it...
News Analysis

Behind Apple’s China Slowdown: Changing Consumer Habits

By Juro Osawa · Jan 4, 2019 10:00am PST · 5 comments
In October, Wang Mengshang spent $10,000 on a weeklong trip with his girlfriend to Seychelles, an African island nation known for beautiful beaches and coral reefs. His holiday pictures got a lot of likes on social media. But the 25-year-old venture investor in Beijing hasn’t bought a new phone in two years. He doesn’t feel the need... In October, Wang Mengshang spent $10,000 on a weeklong trip with his girlfriend to Seychelles, an...
The Tech Firms With the Strongest Balance Sheets
By Martin Peers · Jan 4, 2019 7:00am PST · 3 comments
Data Point

The Tech Firms With the Strongest Balance Sheets

By Martin Peers · Jan 4, 2019 7:00am PST · 3 comments
Quick question: Which tech company has more debt than nearly every other company in America? The answer is likely to surprise you. It’s Apple.As of the September quarter, Apple had $114.5 billion in debt. That puts it only behind AT&T, Ford and GE for how much money it owes, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence, excluding... Quick question: Which tech company has more debt than nearly every other company in America? The...
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Photo by Bloomberg.

The Other Winners of Tech’s Big IPOs

By Cory Weinberg · Jan 3, 2019 7:01am PST
If Uber, Lyft, Pinterest and Slack go public later this year, as is expected, it will be the culmination of months of work. Executives will have to do everything from preparing financial statements for release to editing revisions to their prospectuses. On roadshows around America and possibly overseas, they will try to convince big investors to... If Uber, Lyft, Pinterest and Slack go public later this year, as is expected, it will be the...
Crypto Newsletter

Bitcoin Philanthropists

By Shai Oster · Jan 2, 2019 12:16pm PST
Greetings from Hong Kong. I’m guest-writing this week’s Crypto Newsletter while Jon takes a well-deserved break.Bitcoin’s meager end-of-year rally still left the premier cryptocurrency down 80% from its all-time high. Will the wild volatility in the U.S. stock market start to drive the prices of alternative assets such as... Greetings from Hong Kong. I’m guest-writing this week’s Crypto Newsletter while Jon...
Org Charts

The 140 ‘Waymonauts’ Who Run Alphabet’s Self-Driving Car Unit

By Amir Efrati · Jan 2, 2019 7:00am PST
Alphabet’s Waymo self-driving car unit was the first to launch a commercial robo-taxi service, picking up and dropping off paying passengers. And its technology is considered by people in the industry to be more advanced. But it has a smaller workforce than either of its two best-funded rivals in the U.S., Uber’s autonomous unit and... Alphabet’s Waymo self-driving car unit was the first to launch a commercial robo-taxi...
Bytedance co-founder Zhang Yiming. Photo by Bloomberg
China’s ByteDance to Challenge Facebook
By Shai Oster · Dec 31, 2018 10:01am PST · 5 comments
Bytedance co-founder Zhang Yiming. Photo by Bloomberg
2019 Predictions

China’s ByteDance to Challenge Facebook

By Shai Oster · Dec 31, 2018 10:01am PST · 5 comments
ByteDance, the world’s most valuable venture capital–backed startup, is on a collision course with Facebook. I predict that the Chinese upstart will start competing head-to-head with Facebook for ad dollars in India and Southeast Asia, and will start nibbling even in the U.S., as it makes inroads with the app formerly known as ... ByteDance, the world’s most valuable venture capital–backed startup, is on a...
Good Eggs CEO Bentley Hall. Photo by Good Eggs
The Big Interview

Good Eggs Hatches Grocery Comeback

By Priya Anand · Dec 31, 2018 7:01am PST · 1 comment
It was a big year for the online grocery business. Amazon launched same-day deliveries from Whole Foods Markets. Instacart, meanwhile, raised two mega-rounds of funding totaling more than $1 billion, raising its valuation to nearly $8 billion.Those two developments seem like they would suck the oxygen out of the market for Bentley Hall, the CEO... It was a big year for the online grocery business. Amazon launched same-day deliveries from Whole...
Podcast

The Information’s 411 — Should Aulde Acquaintance Be Forgot?

By Tom Dotan · Dec 28, 2018 3:32pm PST
Priya, Cory and Tom round out 2018 with the New Year's resolutions for tech's leaders and top companies. Priya, Cory and Tom round out 2018 with the New Year's resolutions for tech's leaders...
Mark Zuckerberg. Photo by Bloomberg
Subscriber Survey

Zuckerberg to Have Biggest Impact on Tech in 2019, Subscribers Say

By Wendy Pollack · Dec 28, 2018 11:06am PST · 7 comments
Facebook’s influence on elections and political discourse was the dominant tech story of 2018. The Information subscribers don’t expect much letup next year: Mark Zuckerberg received the most votes in our survey asking subscribers who will have the greatest impact on the tech industry in 2019.As the table below shows, subscribers... Facebook’s influence on elections and political discourse was the dominant tech story of...
Deborah Jackson (l.) and Andrea Turner Moffitt, co-founders of Plum Alley Investments. Photo: Samantha Casolari
At Plum Alley Investments, Backing Women in ‘Hard’ Tech
By Jessica Toonkel · Dec 28, 2018 7:00am PST · 1 comment
Deborah Jackson (l.) and Andrea Turner Moffitt, co-founders of Plum Alley Investments. Photo: Samantha Casolari
Q&A

At Plum Alley Investments, Backing Women in ‘Hard’ Tech

By Jessica Toonkel · Dec 28, 2018 7:00am PST · 1 comment
As the founders of Plum Alley Investments, Andrea Turner Moffitt and Deborah Jackson don’t like it to be thought of as a women’s investing network. In fact, 20% of their members are men. They also don’t want to be lumped in with “impact investors.” Plum Alley looks to invest in women-run startups that are focused on... As the founders of Plum Alley Investments, Andrea Turner Moffitt and Deborah Jackson don’t...